


Danganronpa: Piercing Light

by pinkhippoe (five_tarius)



Series: Fanganronpa (pinkhippoe) [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Fan Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Gen, Major Character Injury, Murder, Murder Mystery, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Original Fiction, POV First Person, Sad with a Happy Ending, Suicide, moriko's like monokuma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:15:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26259262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/five_tarius/pseuds/pinkhippoe
Summary: Welcome to the 107th Killing Game! Although we really wanted it to be in the school itself, Tsukiko Charter Academy For The Talented, I wanted it to be special! Hmm, what to call it.. Let's call it the Cure Of The Killing Hospital! Yes! Tune for our new season of Danganronpa! As the most-viewed series, we must deliver to our audience. Get your popcorn and glowsticks ready, we're in for a bruisin'!
Series: Fanganronpa (pinkhippoe) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1907794
Kudos: 4





	1. Introduction

_Talent. Everyone liked people who were talented. I wanted to be liked and accepted for once, so I lifted some work off my parents and through their profession, I became talented. I was socially accepted. Damaged files? Hacks? I can help solve that. I've recently come out of my shell as a quiet kid, so don't expect that much from me. Before highschool, my brothers or my parents always had to introduce me, but I think I'll try to do one myself. I'm Kori Tsubasa. I get that my name's a little.. boring, but hey, I didn't choose it. I'm not the type of smile, joke around, or maybe smile. Right now, I'm currently eyeing my new school, Tsukiko Charter Academy For The Talented. I belong here, and I'm excited. But for some reason, I.._

_I.. don't.. know.._

My eyes opened. Where was I? I was in.. a room with white walls and floors. Checking my surroundings, it was clear I was in a hospital. Distant sounds of people were outside my door. I felt drawn to it, to see a face. I opened the door and followed the voices, before entering some kind of performance stage. There, 15 other people of my age stood there. Immediately, a black-haired boy approached me, suddenly.

"You're the last person to arrive! Hello, I'm Adachi Jinjin, the Ultimate Chess Player. You?" 

I was taken by surprise by how fast he was to introduce himself. 

"I'm Kori Tsubasa, Ultimate Cybercrime Investigator. Have we.. met before, possibly?"

"Maybe? Anyways, nice to meet you." He held out his hand for me to shake. Awkwardly, I grabbed his hand and shook it. A cyan-haired boy approached us.

"Are you done? This isn't a meet and greet."

"Oh, that's Kocho Juzubara, Ultimate Entrepreneur. Not so nice."

"At least I don't waste my time trying to touch everyone. That's my sister, Shinora. She's the Ultimate Soprano." He pointed to a light blue haired girl behind him.

"Don't make it weird! Anyways, so here's everyone." He pointed to various people.

From what I saw so far, the blue eyed brunette was Nikki Susume the Ultimate Footracer, a pink haired girl named Oyakawa Yashino, who couldn't remember her talent, the three black haired people named Harada Sukai, Kuroko Yumogotchi and Inoue Yamase were the Ultimate Hacker, Biologist and Janitor. The green eyed brunette was Wakita Fuki, The Ultimate Baker, the red haired guy, Akazawa Ito, was the Ultimate Actor, the cheery blonde girl was Yamaji Subete, the Ultimate Dog Trainer, the calm cyan haired boy was Nishimoto Kyosuke, the Ultimate Strategist, the mint haired girl was Yusane Nishioka and the white and black haired boy was Sakamoto Raitaa, the Ultimate Firefighter. Also, a transfer student called Erin Shippai claimed to be the Ultimate Archer.

It was nearly too much to take in, but I was sure that I could make do with all of this information. 

  
  
  


“GOOD MORNING, STUDENTS AND WELCOME!” A childish voice boomed across the speakers. A little girl with magenta hair about 9-10 pushed the curtains aside on the stage and stood on a box, probably trying to make herself seem above us. She wore a wolf mask that was white on the left, black on the right. “You may think I’m just a little girl, but in reality, I’m the overseer of ya! The name’s Moriko, and I know about your future and history!”

Kocho huffed.

“You? A kid? This has to be some kind of joke. I’m not letting a child tell me what to do.”

“QUIET, you stuck-up bully! I’m tryna say crap vital for your information! Aaaanways, this isn’t your usual sit-down-and-study school, no, no! In fact, I’m proud to announce that this is the 106th Killing Game! Y’know? The fun cycle of killing to win?”

Killing? Oh, great. I cursed inside my head.The atmosphere from the room went from mysterious and confusing to grim and upsetting. I could feel the hidden and unhidden dread spreading like a wildfire across us.

“Noooo! Your faces were so cheery and hope ful, but of course the-” Moriko put her hands to her face and sighed in a dramatic fashion. “The despair ! The despair, the despair!” 

Yamaji began to shudder.

“This has to be some sort of prank! I don’t want to get killed!”

“Let me explain, mutt girl! Here are the rules!” Moriko drew a paper from her pocket and gave a loud throat clear. “1, you must stay here, within the building, don’t waste our time. 2, when it strikes 10PM, it will be called ‘NightTime’ until 7AM. Water and some places are restricted during this period. 3, sleep outside of your dorm is considered sleeping during class. 4, you can roam freely around this building as long as you follow the rules above. 5, any attempt of violence or the cameras around will result in a hefty punishment!”

“Huh? What’s this got to do with this game of yours, Momo-no, Moriko?” I stepped forward and stood in front of everyone. 

“I’ll add rules when the first body goes limp and provide information for you later. For now, keep your cute little faces up and exploring! Chins up, my despairees!” And with that, Moriko held her cape in front of her and let it drop, leaving behind a box. Papers scattered in the air. Instinctively, I grabbed one and held it to my face. Oyakawa held hers around for everyone to see.

“Th-These must be maps for this place. Multiple floors..”

“Came for a school, not a prison simulation. I’m off to explore this place.” Erin sped-walked out.

“Let’s all look around.” After saying so, I turned and strode out of the performance area. Nobody objected, or agreed.

I managed to get the layout of this place in my head in an hour, but after checking my watch, I figured it’d be okay to go to the cafeteria. When through the door, I immediately had forgotten that I was in a dangerous place. The walls and floors were polished and the lights were comforting. The seats and tables described what I’d call elegant in my vocabulary. Everyone from earlier, which somehow made me even better after walking alone with my thoughts. When I went to the kitchen, I grabbed a small juice box, before peeking in the pantry. There was way too much for me to even estimate. With that much, we could live for at least over a year.

Satisfied with my surroundings, I sat with Adachi.

"This place's way too big, yeah? It's almost scary."

"I'm not sure if you noticed, Adachi, but there's more floors. The elevators seem sorta.. locked." Oyakawa approached us.

"Can I sit here?"

"Of course."

"Ah.. well.. I'm Oyakawa Yashino, you already know. Everyone's already kinda being friends, so I supposed I should warm up with someone. I was gonna talk to Shinora, but.." Oyakawa pointed to Kocho and Shinora were sitting at a table alone.

"DUN-DUN-DUUUUYN!" Moriko nearly screamed as she stood on a nearby table.

"EVENING! Well, I got an announcement. You'll be given motives in an hour. Chop-chop with stuffing yourselves." Moriko was gone in an instant. 

"Do we have to put up with her?" There was only one way to find out.


	2. Murder And Malice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A body, then an execution. The students of Kura's Private School Of Hope suffer the deaths of their fellow students.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blood and guts up ahead.

We were herded into the performance stage area. Moriko was pulling a movie theater sized screen down. 

"Sit down, everyone, here's your motive for you, you future murderers!" The lights were dimmed and the screen turned on. It was a stupidly cheesy cartoon voiced over by Moriko, squeaking about killing will equal freedom. We all have potential to murder in a world like this, huh?

Moriko pushed the screen up.

"Well, let me clear things up. When you kill someone, people will discover it. When at least 3 people have found it, a trial will begin soon. If the students find out, your freedom is gone, and so is your life!" Moriko hopped on one leg to another. "That's your motive!" Everyone was sent out of the room. 

At 9PM, I was in my room. Just as I was going to relax, my door was opened, and someone shuffled in. I felt air being moved behind my head. Immediately, I turned and grabbed what would've hit me. Moriko nearly struck me.

"What are you doing, Moriko."

"Just checking if you were smart. I bet all my dollars that you'll stay alive."

"Pff."

"Oh, yeah, laugh off a compliment from the Great Moriko. Anyways, I know you have a laptop hidden in that backpack of yours. Don't you dare search things up to help you with escaping, murdering or case-solving, or the worst will happen.

"I see."

"While I'm here, I should give you some advice. Kill only two people, a genocide has never happened, but it's boring. You can have a partner in crime, but only one of you can graduate. That's it for now!"

"Got it.."

"One last thing!" Moriko walked to the door. "Keep this locked. It'll be much safer. This is a killing game, but ensure your safety!!" Moriko closed the door and I heard footsteps away. I quickly locked the door and crashed onto my bed, ready to sleep. 

I was the first one to finish breakfast, so I made a beeline directly to the computer lab. I realized that this place was probably a modified hospital, since of how odd it was in general. I clicked on the browser and typed '107th Killing Game'. The search was blocked, so I gave up and spent time by myself, like every other normal day. I didn't enjoy solitude, but I got used to being excluded. Eventually, Oyakawa came into the lab and sat next to me.

"Oh, hey, Tsubasa! Was looking for you."

"You can call me Kori, you know. What's happened?"

"Oh, a new area opened up and I wanted to let you know Adachi and I are looking around."

When the three of us were just looking at the new room, my gaze wandered to Adachi. Although his instant friendliness had surprised me, I found his presence acceptable. I made my way to the odd fake plastic shed in the corner.

I didn't expect it.

Well, I did, but not **him**.

Sakamoto was on his side, eyes shut. Blood was puddled on the floor from his neck. My mind swirled with hidden panic. 

In a flash, Oyakawa and Adachi were standing by me.

 **RIING-RIING!**

Our heads turned at the loud noise. A screen had come from the wall, and now we saw Moriko lounging on a throne, her legs draped over the armrest and holding a goblet. Smug little brat. 

**"A body's been discovered! When everyone's ready, the class trial will begin! Get over to the gardening center!"**

We waited for everyone to arrive, and Harada slipped past us and was inspecting Sakamoto's body. Shinora turned to me.

"Tsubasa, you're an investigator, right? Are you able to do stuff really quickly?"

"No. I'm not a detective." Moriko stood behind everyone.

"Hey, guys! You'll need more context, so take this! Mori File Number One! It contains information that's pretty vital!" She handed each of us files, before disappearing. Immediately, I got to work. According to the file, the victim had internal bleeding and severe neck injury. The murder couldn’t all just happen in the shed, so I moved back into the hospital.

The medicine room had a lot of cabinets, so I decided to look through them. Specific medicines can cause internal bleeding. After rummaging through three cabinets full of different bottles, the fourth had an odd white powder on the glass. I pulled it open. The small pint bottles were neatly arranged, but a green small can was misplaced, in the very back. It didn’t have a label, and a few liquid drops. Carelessly, I opened up and took a small sniff. Immediately, I felt sick. I spent much too long trying to keep myself from getting sick. I knew Moriko would have my head if I were to do this, but I used my laptop. Apparently, this was a type of rodenticide, and I was just lucky. Clearly, I figured out by myself that there couldn’t possibly be any way to get someone to drink a strange-smelling liquid. My next destination was the kitchen. 

I found Adachi looking through the drawers.

“Oh, hey, Adachi.”

“Hiya.” I felt like helping him search. I found a board with powder lightly dusted on it.

“Adachi, did you see this?”

“Huh?”

“This board has the same powder from in the medicine room. Someone _definitely_ tried to poison Sakamoto.”

“Doesn’t explain how his neck was cut open.” I should search for how Sakamoto Raitaa’s life ended. I went back to the shed to inspect Sakamoto again. We didn’t ever get the chance to talk. It was sad that he died alone, not even getting the chance to smile once. The gash in his neck was much more visible. It was clear that Sakamoto’s head was almost severed. What I had to find, was the murder weapon. Small movement caught my eyes and I found drops of blood dripping from a rusty watering can, contributing to the blood puddle. The watering can was filled with blood. The bottom of the can was scratched and had a minor hole. The blood had to get into the can, somehow. I went back to searching. Eventually, back in the kitchen, I noticed one of the ovens had a pan still in it. I lifted the pan away and inspected it, the metal blazing hot. I didn’t exactly care, since I was wearing fingerless gloves. Nothing was odd about it, except for a bit of something burnt. The ashes underneath the pan was burnt cloth bits, which were green and the color of blood. More evidence, yet there wasn’t a murder weapon. 

I checked the basement, and unzipped a tent bag. A weed whacker fell and hit the ground, breaking entirely. A small bit of green cloth and blood was on the blades. Satisfied with my findings, I decided to wait out the time by going through the evidence I had.

 **RIING-RIING!**

**“Geez, you guys take SO long! Talk about boring, but at least everyone has the evidence they need! Go to the first floor and take the elevator!”**

Since I was the first to the elevator, I waited for everyone to enter. When the doors closed behind Wakita, we fell silent. I asked myself how this would play out. The doors opened, to reveal a room full of podiums arranged in a circle, and a throne for Moriko. What was even worse was that the room was decorated like a daycare, with pastel unicorns, clouds and rainbows as the wallpaper. I was filled with complete hatred. This was mocking the shock of a death, and the sorrow. Moriko climbed on her throne.

“Afternoon! I’ll explain the rules. The class trial will end once everyone suspects the Blackened. If you vote wrong, I’ll kill everyone except the murderer, and they win. If you vote right, I’ll kill the murderer and the game continues!” I raised my hand. 

“I have questions.”

“Shoot away!”

“Why is a mugshot of Sakamoto displayed on that empty podium.” I pointed to the left of Erin. 

“Well, I know it doesn’t make anything better, but it’d feel odd to just have you guys looking at an empty podium, so imagine that he’s there.”

“And what’s with that hole in the middle?”

“Don’t mind that. Just an error they made when making the building. I don’t know where it leads to, so I recommend that you don’t jump down.”

The room seemed to spin around, and I felt dizzy.

Harada adjusted his tie.

"Raitaa’s neck was slit open, by a blade. The only blades I could find were in the kitchen, **so the murder took place around that area.** ”

“Wait, Harada. I think that the murder wouldn't have something to do with the kitchen, since everyone would hear something go wrong.”

“I see.” Nodding to Harada, I pulled out the small can of rodenticide. 

“I found this bottle empty while searching, and remember, Sakamoto had internal bleeding, and this rodenticide can cause that.” Oyakawa presented a photo of the powder.

“We don’t know what this substance was. I found it on the board and on the cabinet, so could it be **the crushed-up pieces of what was the rodenticide** , used to make Sakamoto sick.”

“I don’t think so. The rodenticide is liquid, see for yourself." I let a little bit from the can fall.”

“Oh..” 

Kocho rolled his eyes.

“It clearly is. Maybe try using your brain.” 

Shinora spoke up.

“Y-Yeah, it is! The weed whacker was used to cut into Raitaa, since it has his blood on it. So that killed him, done and that. **The murderer could be Oyakawa since she doesn't have an alibi**?"

“Nope. She was with me.”

“I-I see, Tsubasa..”

“We have most of the evidence, now. Let’s narrow it down. Who wears green?” Inoue and Oyakawa frowned. Oyakawa pointed to Wakita.

“Hey, Fuki. weren’t you wearing a matching apron?”

“Wh-What? Y-Yeah, I mean, I wanted individuality! Sorry, but uh..” Kocho simply snickered.

“Not an excuse. Give us a good reason.”

“Well, I didn’t want to ruin my favorite apron, so I decided to go with a black one, and, and..” I took this moment to jump in.

“Now that I think of it, I saw you walking around at 9:30, Wakita. What was going on?”

“Don’t point fingers! I wanted to bake cookies for all of you to raise our spirits, but I spilled flour onto the floor everywhere, and attracted rats! Panicking, I rushed to get the rodenticide.”

“The liquid one? All over the powder?” Inoue showed a photo of the spilled powder in the pantry.

“No tracks, anywhere.”

“ _Did I really forget that..?_ ”

I took a sharp inhale.

“You’re clearly the murderer here. Give up.”

“No, wait. The watering can. Oyakawa wanted to get the watering can, right? To get rid of the blood, but the can leaked!”

“And leave the body there? Mmm-mm. I’ll explain what most likely happened.” I leaned forward onto the podium, focusing my hardest.

"While they were baking, the killer looked through the cabinets for anything to kill their target. Unfortunately, the killer used an unlabeled bottle, unaware of the contents inside and suspected it was poison. After adding the rodenticide and giving the poisoned item to the victim, the killer was surprised when the victim didn't die. Since the killer didn't have the right arm strength, they managed to act surprised and convinced him to come to the shed. The killer grabbed the nearest weapon she could use, and finished the job. Before they could completely sever the victim's head off, their apron caught in the blade. Panicking, the killer had to remove it. They temporarily stop the bleeding with the apron to avoid suspicion, since the victim was awfully near the shed door. The killer desperately attempted to try and squeeze blood off the apron and into the watering can, but they didn't check for leaks. Hurrying, they didn't want to be seen at the furnace room and instead crammed the apron into the oven, before covering the remains with a pan. As for the weed whacker, they slipped in a tent bag at an angle where it would fall and break. While the victim was poor Sakamoto Raitaa, the killer was you, Wakita Fuki, the Ultimate Baker. "

Wakita was silent.

"Am I correct?"

"...Sure.." 

Moriko pretended to snore and then woke up.

"You're finally done? Thought that my mommy was telling a scary story. Well, time to vote!" After the voting was finished, everyone stayed silent. 

Wakita let out a sad sigh.

"As soon as I realized Sakamoto didn't die, I knew I was done for. He was going to die anyways, even if I didn't cut him open. I knew I messed up. I signed my death. It's time for me to atone for my sin." She faced Moriko. "I'm ready. Goodbye, Tsubasa, Jinjin, Sukai, Juzubara, Erin, Susume, Yamase, Ito, Yumogotchi, Yashino and everyone else." Moriko let out a giggle.

"Finally! I've prepared a special execution just for you, Ultimate Baker! Let's give it our all! It's…. PUNISHMENT TIME!"

We were all standing in the room, before a chain suddenly flung itself in. It wrapped itself all the way around Wakita's neck, choking her. A hole opened up in the wall and she was dragged away speedily. She was tied to a metal pole, and her surroundings became hotter. The pole began to heat up and burn her back, while her body started to burst into flames. Wakita was reduced to ash.


	3. Motiveless Despair

A day after both Sakamoto’s and Wakita’s death, everyone seemed to mourn both of them, including me. Even Kocho was saddened. We started to grow silent and less lively. We’d wake up, eat, and then go back to our rooms. I went to the library once to read, and that was only once. It was like this for 4 days, until Moriko finally said something about it. We were all gathered in the outside area, where there was a huge glass dome.

“You guys are all mopey and sad! So, I’ve prepared a gift for all of you!” I wasn’t interested anymore.

“I don’t care if it’s another motive.”

“Stop being so negative! It’s not a motive. I'll just call this a fun-day for you all. Go ahead and start jabberin'." Since there wasn't any other way to pass the time, we began to talk about ourselves in the library. When it came to my turn, I felt disappointed in myself.

"I'm not compelling, but I guess I'll try. Mm, well, I got my talent through my parents." Immediately, my friend Oyakawa was curious.

"Ooh, so did your parents help you?"

"For the majority of my childhood, my parents were busier than they enjoyed, so my older cousin would come over and babysit Toshimitsu, Shojiota, and I, because you can't leave 6 year olds alone. My cousin wasn't nice to specifically me. He would mock me endlessly because I wasn't talented, so I took it upon myself to lift some of the weights off my parents and become an Ultimate."

"That's rough.." 

I realized I was talking much more than anyone would like.

"I'm sorry. I just don't have anything interesting to say about a talent so unoriginal."

Nikki broke the short silence.

"I'm really curious about you, so is it okay if I ask questions, girl? Really simple."

"Sure."

"Sorry about that. If you could describe yourself in one word, what would it be?" I stayed silent, since the only words that came to mind were odd. I made it look like I was thinking about it. Moriko told us to go back to our dorms or something before I thought of a lie.

Later, I found Nishimoto dismantling a camera, with Kocho watching over him. 

"You two do realize you'll be in huge trouble, right?" Kocho sighed at me.

"I'm not the one doing the work here, simply watching. And besides, how bad could it get? It could be a fee or a lecture."

"And this is a killing game. Anything can happen."

"I don't think Moriko would tamper with this game of hers."

"I think that she would." The door was flung open. 

"INDEED I WOULD! All of you, follow me. We're gonna show what happens if you break my rules." Nishimoto frowned and backed away.

"You can't make me."

"Oh, yes I can! Chain, or rope? (´・ω・`)"

"On second thought, I'll follow…" Everyone in the whole hospital was forced to follow Moriko, so we were in Nishimoto's room.

"Nishimoto Kyosuke has broken a rule! I'll show what'll happen to you too, if you make a mistake. I do wish I could kill Kocho to make myself satisfied, but that's not fair." At lightning speed, Moriko pulled a revolver from her dress and we all instinctively backed away. I've been threatened multiple times before, but there's probably not a single person in the world who wouldn't react. Moriko shot repeatedly until she didn't have any bullets, leaving Nishimoto dead in seconds. "Sorry that you had to see that, my students! I had to show an example of what would happen!"

"Moriko, you killed him for breaking a camera."

"And I could kill you for talkin' to me, Kori!"

"No."

"That's what I like to hear! While we're in the rooms, I'll let you all know that you're free to decorate your own."

When I ate with my friends at the cafeteria,I noticed that a specific someone, other than Nishimoto wasn't here. Of course, they probably died. But that didn't stop me from worrying. Adachi stumbled into the table, completely horrified by something.

"Did something happen, Adachi?"

"A-a body.. Kuroko.."

I stood up, my chair falling.

"Lead the way. Come on, Oyakawa." While we sprinted, the body discovery announcement chimed.

**RIING-RIING!**

**"A body's been discovered! When everyone's ready, the class trial will begin! Get over to the second floor hallway!"**

When I set foot in the hallway, I was immediately overcome with unseen dread. There laid Kuroko. She was holding a tie that was wrapped too tightly around her neck, and an envelope in the other. A faint smile was on her face. Once more, I set to work. Moriko handed me the second Mori File, and specifically told me to not touch the envelope.

I began to sift through Kuroko's room, which was to the left of her body. The killer didn't seem to care to get rid of evidence, like Wakita's case but much, much, more careless. There was a scuffle all around. Kuroko's bookshelf was slammed into and the books were scattered on the floor. The clothing shelves had her uniforms, but a shirt was thrown aside, and a tie was missing. The killer must've strangled her using it. The bedside table was knocked over too, so there wasn't any mistake that this was a fight. The table had ink spilled on the floor, from a broken pen. Footprints of the ink looked unfortunately close to my rain boots. I decided to double-check Kuroko. Her face was still purple from her loss of air. 

It was completely confusing why she was smiling. Did she welcome death, just like despair? On further inspection, she was clenching the tie hard, despite not having a pulse. I couldn't find any more evidence, nor did I exactly have the will. I made my way to the elevator, where Kocho, Adachi and Inoue were. We waited for the others, and as soon as everyone was in, the doors didn't close. Moriko strode in. We stared at her, expecting her to say or do something weird. She simply stared back as the elevator doors closed.

"Whaddya want? Can't a kid be in the elevator? Jinjin, spit it out!"

"Agh! It's just that you arrive early before us, so it's surprising."

"I can't always be the early bird! And besides do you expect lil' me to just pop up in the next room? I have legs!" Neither of us could tell if she was genuinely mad or not, but I noticed the elevator was still going down.

"Are we going to another floor?"

"Figured it'd make things more interesting. I can't wait for your reactions to the theme." As if on cue, the doors opened and we all went to our podiums. Moriko this time was sitting on a desk instead of a throne. The setting was a classroom. It seemed so familiar, but I just couldn't see why. 

"According to the Mori File," Oyakawa took a peek. "Kuroko died of asphyxia. It's clear that the murder weapon is.."

Shinora nodded. "A tie. She was strangled to death by one of her ties, **so the killer had to get access to her room**."

Oyakawa began to tremble.

"There's something I need to say, but I think **that now's not the time.** "

"What do you need to say, Oyakawa? It's alright."

"I think that I may have.. KILLED Kuroko.."

Kocho looked as if he was going to strangle her.

"Hmph. You 'think'? Don't be stupid. You're making yourself suspicious. Explain yourself."

"I wanted to chat with Kuroko, but I found her, trying to strangle herself with whatever she could find. I didn't want anyone more to die, so I fought with her to keep her alive. She kept threatening me, so I had to leave. I came back and she told me to help her set her own death.."

"Ugh. I'd like you to explain MORE. Why did she end up in the hallway, and not in her room? You better make a good lie, if you want to live."

"This isn't a lie. I'll give a good explanation. First, she requested to for me give her one of her ties, while she wrote a note, which **probably got damaged in our second struggle.** "

"There's a chance that the note was in the envelope, Oyakawa. We can't assume."

"Oh! Sorry. She started to crush her windpipe. I thought she was just trying something, but I was wrong again. It was killing her, so of course, I tried to stop her and myself, again. She managed to get me to go away, but I feel so responsible for her death. I could've stopped this killing game."

"It's not your fault, she died on her own terms." The mood of the room wilted like withering flowers. Oddly, I felt responsible for her death, too. Kocho seemed discomforted at my emotions.

"Are we all in agreement that Kuroko killed herself?"

"I believe so, but may I recap to those who possibly not be convinced?"

"Do I look like I'd stop you?"

"Oyalawa kept repeating and jumping so I'll try my best to piece it together. Oyakawa was going to visit the victim, but spotted her doing something too suspicious, which was trying to strangle herself with nothing but her own hands. Worried, she began to fight the victim for their life. The victim managed to intimidate her enough to back away, but reconsidered and begged her to go back. They suspiciously started to tighten their tie progressively starting to crush their windpipe. Not wanting Oyakawa to be framed, they used their final breaths to have Oyakawa run. The victim and killer themself, is none other than our friend Kuroko Yumogotchi, the Ultimate Biologist, who fell to insanity-like despair." Oyakawa nodded furiously. 

"Am I right again?"

"Yeah, that was basically it!"

"Thanks. Moriko, we're done." The magenta haired child didn't respond, slumped in a sitting position. "Moriko. We're done."

"Gyaa! My lovely students took another millenia to finish the second murder case, I'm totally proud, or somethin' like that. Anyways, vote for who's guilty! Make your mark, or leave it! Who will be voted as the blacked?" I pressed the button on my podium, praying nothing would happen to Kuroko, despite that she was long gone. 

"Kuroko has been voted as the blackened! Good choice, students! Sadly, Kuroko is dead, so we can't watch a beautifully planned execution!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -The podium order, clockwise is: Inoue, Sakamoto, Wakita, Oyakawa, Kocho, Adachi, Shinora, Akazawa, Kori, Erin, Nishimoto, Harada, Yamaji, Yusane, Nikki, Kuroko.  
> -Forgot that Harada is a boy. Will be fixing that.  
> -Kori thinks that she talks too much, while others think she's pretty quiet.  
> -It's difficuly to make a class trial play out smoothly.  
> -The mastermind is among them.  
> -Kori's hair is brown with black highlights, and her eyes are orange.  
> 


	4. A Dagger Of Distrust

I had free time, so I decided to try and visit Akazawa. When I knocked on his door, footsteps and a violent cough was heard. 

"It's Kori. Are you alright?"

"Oh. I've haven't really talked with anyone, huh? Well, now's a bad time.."

"You're sick, aren't you."

"Yeah, sorry. I can prove it." The door slowly opened a little, and Akazawa came into view. His hair was messed up, his glasses nowhere to be seen, and his face was pale. There wasn't any way he could fake this. He expressed his concern of spreading his germs. The door shut and I felt air moving behind me. I instinctively turned around, and blocked a punch from Moriko.

"Are you going to keep doing this?"

"Aaaaare you?" 

"What?"

"What? Anyways, motive time. I'm rounding you all up for it."

"What about Akazawa?"

"Him? Ohhh, I'll just blare it into his room. It'll make him feel better. Now, go over to the performance stage." I barely saw that as effective, but I wasn't allowed to argue with her.

Instead of a video, Moriko had us stand in a group.

"For your next motive, we'll have electrocutor cuffs on each of your wrists! Every 30 minutes, I'll randomize how intense it is! But I'll make sure that it's not enough to kill, and that you can't electrocute yourself. If ya wanna get them off and be free, shed blood!" Without waiting for a response, Moriko clapped her hands and the ceiling panels opened, as robot hands with cartoonish gloves flew out.

"Kori Tsubasa, take off your glove." Reluctant, I pulled the fingerless glove from my right hand and stuffed it in my pocket. The hands latched thick metal cuffs that covered our wrists, and fit too well on our hands to take off. I could barely bend my wrist.

  
  


"Oh, and don't try smashing them with a rock! They're practically as hard as diamonds, and I only know how to get 'em off. The timer for the hours starts now, have fun!"

I was in the library reading with my friends when the first shock happened. It was completely randomized, but I felt like I was being tased. For nearly 20 seconds, I felt pain coursing through my arms and into my heart. I had nearly dropped my book. Oyakawa was almost going to cry.

"Are you guys fine." 

"That was," Adachi rubbed his arms. "The worst thing I have ever felt."

"I wish I disagreed. 'Kawa, are you okay?"

"That hurt a lot more than I thought.. sniff." 

"I really hope that the next one won't be as violent, Christ."

When everyone ate, the shock wasn't as bad, but still painful. Kocho slammed his hand on the table.

"God, this is annoying. This isn't worth killing any of you for, but I'd really want these off." That was the nicest thing we would ever hear him say, I bet. I rubbed my wrists.

"It slightly irritates my skin, since these are clamped on tightly. I wonder if trying to break these is a violation." Moriko climbed onto our table.

"There's no sense of punishing you for doing the impossible! Anyways, with each day that passes I'll shorten the time of the electrocution by 4 minutes. It may not seem like a lot, but it'll bite ya soon!" And then she was gone. 

Sleep soon began to become a struggle, too. Even when everyone fell asleep, Moriko made sure to activate the electrocutions. After each shock, it got harder for me to not stay awake. I wasn't planning on getting rest anytime soon.

For a while, I spent my time trying to sleep since I'd lost so much. I could tell the others were like that, since I'd seen their faces.

RIING! RIING!

"A body's been discovered! When everyone's ready, the class trial will begin! Head to the library to find your prize!"

Not again. I broke out in a full sprint and slammed the door open. Despair filled the back of my mind. What I didn't expect.. was..

Kuroko. 

Nishimoto.

Wakita.

Sakamoto.

Fully detailed photos of their faces were displayed on picture frames, each and everyone one of them smiling, arranged in a circle.

And in the circle?

Yamaji, and Inoue. Inoue's torso was missing while Yamaji's legs were torn up. The blood that spilled on the tiles was sickening. Without words, we all split up to gather evidence.

The crime scene looked like someone had tried a ritual, since a faded pentagram made of marker seemed partly intact. I feel as if someone would point fingers at Harada, but that'd be too obvious. But to pay my respects, I silently hoped for all of our deceased friends to rest and be free from this hell. 

As always, I looked everywhere. It'd been 8 minutes so far, so I hoped I wasn't going to get electrocuted during the search. The second floor window above the performance was open, which was odd. I wanted to try something, so I asked Moriko.

"I found blacklight bulbs in a box. Can I use it to find evidence?"

"Go ahead! What're you gonna use it for?"

"I saw in this one show that some crime investigators used blacklights to find blood that's been cleaned up, so I wanted to try." This was a lie. I did an experiment in my middle school class and knew it could show blood.

"Sure. Also, you're the last one to get a Mori File, so here." Moriko jammed it into my hands and walked away. Yamaji bled out, while Inoue was punctured. Since his torso was completely gone, I couldn't find out what he possibly could've been killed by. When I inspected Yamaji, I noticed there were marks, from some sharp weapon, probably used to dismember both of them. I noticed Oyakawa was looking behind the shelves.

"Kawa."

"Huh?"

"I want to show you something. It'll help with the case, somewhat."

"Oh-okay, this better not get me killed."

"Oh, don't worry, only the rules here stop me from starting a massacre." I hoped she noticed I was deadpanning. I led her to the blacklights, turning on and moving the bulb around.

"I don't think both of us have searched the performance stage. Let's go check it out." Oyakawa looked through the closets backstage while I shone the light across the smooth floor. A huge blsck stage appeared before the blacklight.

"Kawa, I found something."

"Alright, I'll go look, just give me a-" After that, I heard a shriek. I nearly dropped the blacklight and ran towards backstage.

"Are you oka-" 

"I-I guess I found Inoue's body part." His torso had fallen out of the closet Oyakawa was searching for. 

"Don't think too much of it, but I need a closer look." Oyakawa made a face. "I need to check the wounds."

"Oh, okay. Can you give me the blacklight?" She walked to the front of the stage with it. The wounds in Inoue were small little slits, many of them in the same area. I went upstairs and checked around the window. In the corner of my eye, I saw a gleam of metal around the curtains.

"Kawa, I'm gonna pull down the curtains to try something, okay?"

  
  


"Got it!" The red curtain fell and I heard a bunch of clattering. Lifting the curtain to go under, I found a bunch of golden arrows tied in together with a chain. A few were caked with blood.

"I found more evidence."

"Great! You go ahead, I'll keep searching around here."

"Mm, okay." There had to be a way that both Yamaji and Inoue had to be dismembered, with a sharp object. I went to the gardening shed, expecting Sakamoto's lifeless body there once more. I mentally prepared myself, but I was slightly surprised.

Sakamoto was nowhere to be seen, and the blood was all gone. I hope that he was buried properly. I noticed that the chainsaw was in great condition, but the chain was removed. I instantly knew where the chain was. Believing I had found what I could, I stepped into the elevator first.

As the doors closed behind us, I wondered who would be guilty for this crime, and make this elevator emptier.

  
  


The theme of this room was just a throne room with fake riches scattered all around. Before any of us could talk, Moriko walked over to Akazawa's podium and slapped duct tape on his mouth. 

"You got germs, yuck!" 

"Moriko, that wasn't necessary. He might've had something to say. Isn't that sabotage?"

"Yeah, but I MAKE THE RULES. Shut it!"

Adachi didn't like this.

"Uhh, so, we know by now, that Yamaji was killed by the murder weapon, and that Inoue was killed by something else.. What was it?"

"Reminder that there's too many ways to kill someone. Choking, strangling, but he also could've been simply killed by the murder weapon."

"That's wrong.." Oyakawa interjected before I could. "We, as in Kori and I, found Inoue's torso and Kori checked for wounds. What'd you find?"

"Inoue had small, slit-like wounds in his body. It was probably either by blades, etcetera." 

Nikki raised her hand.

"It definitely had to do something with projectiles, since a window was open near the stage and there were tiny notches in the stage.  **There's no way** that you had some comically large sword to make those marks."

"I agree, Nikki." I gave a small thumbs-up. "To add on, I found a few arrows bound together, tangled in the curtains."

Kocho began to flip through his evidence.

"One possibility is that they had him 

pinned down and  **stabbed him through with the arrows..** " 

"What's with the open window, then?"

"Ugh.. You don't understand? The window could've been opened so that the killer could hide the arrows."

"And be fully aware that the curtains could be drawn and have it fall?"

"E-Excuse me, we know about how Inoue died, but what about Yamaji? W-What killed her?"

"We're going to move onto that, Shinora, don't worry." 

Akazawa tried to talk, but Moriko loudly talked over him.

"YAP-YOP-YAAAAAAAA. MURDER CASE NUMBER THREEEE!" 

  
  


"Shut up Moriko. Akazawa wants to say something."

"YOU'RE SO MEEEEAAAAN, JUZUBARA!"

"Shut. Up. Akazawa, what did you say?"

"Mmmph-" Akazawa managed to move the duct tape slightly "Erin?" He pointed to Erin Shippai.

"What? Why are you pointing at me? Just 'cause I'm the Ultimate Archer doesn't make it my fault!"

With a painful tear, Akazawa could speak.

"You don't have an alibi, Mr. Shippai. We were all trying to have a few minutes of sleep, but you said you were gonna go on a nightly stroll, and asked if a few people could come with him, and you ran to your dorm in a hurry."

"Honestly? I think you and Harada are suspicious. I think Harada tried to sacrifice our classmates. Who else can draw a pentagram so complex?"

"It wasn't me. There were misplaced books at the back shelf of the library. I do not try to make occult-like scenes in public, knowing that it might make everyone uncomfortable."

"What's your reasoning, Akazawa? You never appeared anywhere, and  **didn't talk to anyone.** "

"Incorrect. I spoke with him while his sickness was severe, at 5:00 PM, where we can assume the murder was being set up."

"You can't be sure."

Yusane laughed. 

"At around 7 PM, I followed Erin around. Lil' pieces of gold dust everywhere in his pockets? You already know what's gold and killing!'

"The arrows. Oh, and to add onto that, there was excessive blood, and I found a chainsaw without the chain."

Adachi seemed to get excited.

"Ah! While I was inspecting the chain wrapped around the golden arrows, there were little specks of blood!"

"I see. Erin, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Dead silence. Calm before the storm.

"Is your head empty or somethin'? 'Cause I have proof I'm not the murderer here!" He showed us the complex marker pentagram, the marker on Akazawa's sleeve, other useless information I didn't care about.

"ITO here, had faked both his sickness and was trying to frame Harada, using his 'Ultimate Actor' skills. Now, do I need to throw more information? I'm right, yeah?  **Aren't I right?** Aren't I?"

"No, that's wrong, again. Akazawa?"

"You're way off, Erin. I may not have the incredible intelligence of a prodigy, but even I can tell your act is off. You jumped from Harada to me, and then you're pinning it on me. You're the suspicious individual."

"Hell no! I'm right, I'm entirely right, I'm right, I AM."

"Be quiet, Erin. I see now what has happened."

"BUT I'M RIGHT!"

"Allow me to explain in a somewhat certain manner. You invited Inoue to come to the stage, seemingly harmless. From the window, you shot him with your talented skills, the very bow on your back. Of course, not everyone has perfect aim, so you left notches on the stage floors, since there was no possible way for you to get rid of them. You moved his body to the library, and went to grab the chainsaw. On your way back, you saw Yamaji seeing his body and acted quickly, letting her both not escape, and bleed out. You dismembered Inoue and stored his torso in one of the stage cabinets, purposely leaving the blacklights out in a box, trying to frame Akazawa. As for Yamaji? You used the occult books as reference in the library to make it look like the work of Harada, but you couldn't find the right places to put them. To clean the scene, you took the bloodied chainsaw and wrapped it with the arrows from Inoue's wounds, before tossing it onto the curtains, hoping it would get all tangled."

"..That's entirely correct."

"Sorry, Erin, but your story ends here."

Moriko started slamming her fist on her throne.

"You guys are SOOO slow! I mean, this is a class trial, but can you just vote now? Just like last time, use the little d-pad on the side of your podium to vote." We all voted for Erin.

"I have no other words for you, my classmates. I came here to see what this place was like, and I've ruined my chance. Goodbye."

"I'VE PREPARED A SPECIAL PUNISHMENT FOR THE ULTIMATE ARCHER! LET'S GIVE IT OUR ALL! It's…. PUNISHMENT TIME!"

Erin was tied against a wall, as Moriko slowly walked toward. She shot an arrow, missing. Moriko missed yet again. Moriko, frustrated and pouting, activated some kind of contraption and sent millions of arrows through his head. Erin was dead now. The class trial ended and we were dismissed.


	5. Rewind On The Murder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The remaining students are told to find out who is the mastermind through investigating and the final class trial. To also do that, they have to go back on one of the murder cases to reveal the truth, but things go wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Kori has a really bad habit of scratching her neck until it bleeds when she's stressed or frustrated.

I found myself with every single remaining student, even Kocho. We were all just sitting together, just talking about simple topics. Immediately, we heard the familiar

**RIING! RIING!**

**"Hello everyone! Instead of doing a body discovery, let's set an ending for this killing game! Figure out who is the mastermind among you all and start up a class trial! I'll be giving hints and evidence! You can't work together!"**

Everyone gave each other an unsure look and we all walked off. I immediately searched for Moriko, encountering her in the storage room, in complete darkness.

"Hey, hey, hey! You wanted your clue, right? Here it is." She handed me a photograph of a dimmed room of pods, each with little photos on each one, hard to make out.

"What.. does this mean?"

"It's a clue!" I walked out, trying to inspect the odd but familiar photo. The light in the photo was very dimmed, so I could make out little portraits of faces by each pod. Someone with glasses, and then some-

What?

To the far left, the portrait had me. I didn't understand. Maybe it was when the bodies were removed during the killing game? I didn't know. I checked the storage room on the upper floor, sorting through dusty boxes, before ripping off the cover for one. A tape recorder, with a label named "sAFe". I pressed play on the outdated thing. An odd, mysterious voice spoke, clearly female.

_"10-left, 4. The age of Moriko."_

I was sure that this was supposed to be the code of something. Before I could enter through a door I'd never seen before, Moriko slapped me.

"Mmm, door's jammed. Don't try breaking this open."

Despite searching for hours for anything, the entire hospital was cleaned out. Cabinets and boxes were opened, and I literally saw Kocho break a locked safe open.

"Uh, I had a code. You could've waited or.."

"It doesn't really affect anything. I'm not gonna get strangled by a toddler for breaking a safe."

"What's in it, anyways?"

"See for yourself."

A tiny booklet was inside, bound by a leather strap. Inside, there were 15 pages. I flipped to the second page.

_'Target: Tarou Fukushi._

_He matches the same height as Entrant 55, so it will do._

_Remember to delete and then transfer._

"It says remotely the same thing on each page. I don't think you need it." Kocho simply walked away. 

My desperate attempts had to be stopped, since I literally couldn't find anything else to use as evidence, so I entered the elevator, strangely alone. Then, underneath the elevator, a clack echoed, then a snap. I wondered what that could be. As usual, everyone piled in and the elevator descended. 

The elevator already seemed much more emptier than when we first set foot here. 

* * *

We took our places in the class trial, and I felt a wave of concern rushing through me. I didn't know who is this 'mastermind'.

"Ah, I don't really try to point fingers, b-but I'd like to say who I think is behind this."

"Go ahead, Shinora."

"W-Well, I find it suspicious that Kor is-seems to always know what's going on.." She looked at me like I was going to hit her.

"It's okay, I'd like to hear your reasoning."

"It's almost as if you already know what will happen, and how quickly you've been able to draw u-up conclusions, even though I suspected a trial would be back-and-forth for at least over an hour, but you manage to piece it in at least 30 m-minutes, so I got suspicious.. Kocho?"

"Well, I can say that I support this claim. There's always a possibility i could be someone else, but I can see why Shinora thinks Tsubasa is the mastermind."

"I don't believe I'm the mastermind. Here, flip through this small book, and tell me who isn't inside, Shinora."

"O-Oh! But what if you were to tear the pages?"

"There are exactly 15 pages in the book, I saw each one of them whie Tsubasa looked at it."

"Did everyone receive the hint Moriko gave out, or is it all different? Mine looks like this." I showed the strange photo with the dimmed lights. 

"Mine looks like that." Adachi nodded, and showed his image. Different angle, but still the same location. "I think that we're given different angles and perspectives. See, this one on the left shows a portrait of Inoue, and this shows Nikki."

"So what if I'm on there? That doesn't make me the mastermind-"

"We weren't trying to prove that, Susume. Now, does anyone have more pieces of evidence to support our silent claim? I refuse to say who is the suspicious individual among us."

"I don't think anyone has any supporting proof, Kocho. But there's one thing that I'd like to go over, again. The last murder case."

"Kuroko's death? We already solved it, unless you have something else in mind."

"In fact, I do. Something is slightly off from the last trial, and Moriko went along with it."

"Oh." Akazawa raised his hand. "I felt the same way, but when I went into Kuroko's room, it exploded and the door locked."

"Oh, so that was that sound! I thought something went wrong. But I'm nervous about the murder case. Since I was the suspect for a little while, I hope it doesn't make the murderer."

"Don't worry,, Oyakawa. We'll find this out. Akazawa, did you investigate anything?"

"Yes. I was in one of the vacant hospital rooms down the hallway, before falling through a moving wall, behind the nightstand. There, I found a million screens, leading to all of the cameras that we saw in the school, including the one Nishimoto.. had dismantled. Underneath the desk, there was some hidden passageway, maybe small enough to well, uhm.."

He pointed to Oyakawa, and then me.

"Like, in-between Kori and Oyakawa's height, if they were to crouch." This completely started up a full 8 person argument. Everyone was talking and yelling over each other at once. I needed to focus on what they're saying..

" **It's got to be Oyakawa then. She's the shortest out of all of us.** "

" **Height doesn't exactly matter. Anyone could get on their stomachs and crawl.** "

" **What if the passageway was a lie? Kori's soooo suspicious, though.** "

" **No, she isn't! She's my friend and I doubt she'll betray us.** "

" **It's got to be Kori.** "

" **Oyakawa makes the most sense!** "

" **Kori always slinks off somewhere to be by herself.** "

" **No, no, no, I'm not trying to say that either Kori or Oyakawa is the mastermind, I'm using them as an example**."

That last sentence I last heard was something that wasn't just pointless arguing. For probably once in a long time, I raised my voice.

"EVERYONE, please be quiet."

Honestly, I was shocked that even worked.

"Akazawa was using the both of us as an example. Just by our height can't confirm if either of us is behind this."

"Thank you. Anyways, I managed to go through the passageway (because I'm not that tall) and found myself in a room with a desk with a photo and a long rope that had blood streaked on it, clawed slightly. I feel like the rope has to do something with the murder, but the photo..?"

He pulled the photo out and unfolded it. It had all 16 of us there, all grinning and grouped together.

"We've never taken a group photo together. Kocho, could you take a look at 'this'? I believe it supports the claim you have." He passed the photo to Kocho, who inspected it, before keeping it hidden from sight.

"May we move back onto the murder, Kori?"

"Yes. I'm suspicious about Kuroko's death. I don't think that she killed herself. Moriko, did she, or are you hiding something?"

"Who knows! I ain't gonna ruin the surprise!"

"Hmph. Well, the rope. I think that was what killed Kuroko. The question is, who did it?"

"Your local crime girl here. While Kori was speaking, I went through everyone's pockets. Hey, Oyakawa, what's with the black gloves you stuffed in your apron? The gloves, like the ones you're wearing right now, are white."

"I was cleaning and didn't want to get my favorite gloves ruined."

"Ya got multiple of them, I saw earlier. And these ones I'm holding? They don't seem to have dust or anything on them, but darkish stains.."

"Huh, weird. Maybe it was the ink?"

"What do you mean by that Oyakawa? I trust you know what you're talking about, as your friend."

"The ink, from Kuroko's room. It was red, right? We were struggling and maybe it spilled on my gloves. I was cleaning and I decided to visit Kuroko."

"Your local street-smart girl here. By natural survival instincts, even if you're trying to kill yourself, your body will still attempt to stop. Kuroko must've started to try and get the rope off her, clawing fiercely at the rope even if the friction of the rope started to make her skin bleed."

Adachi had to add on.

"So, that was the cause of the blood on the rope? Akazawa, do you have it?"

"Yeah. Here it is."

"And could I see the gloves from Oyakawa? I think I'm onto something.."

"Go ahead, chess boy!"

Adachi looked back and forth from the two objects.

"There's definitely ink on here, but.. flip it over, so that you can see the front part of the fingers." Yusane did so.

"See? About the same color as the rope on the fingertips."

All eyes were on Oyakawa, who didn't seem to falter. I exhaled, slowly, trying to keep myself from seeming too shaken.

"You probably killed Kuroko yourself, didn't you, Oyakawa? And since we didn't get punished for voting for Kuroko, you're working for Moriko..? Please, Oyakawa, tell us that I'm wrong!"

A wave of pure sadness washed over me, I lost my collected and calm nature, because this pink-haired girl I believed was to be my friend, was behind all of this.

* * *

Oyakawa stood still, unmoving and silent. Her eyes studying everyone. Then, she did something unusual.

Oyakawa started to laugh, not in a cheerful way, but more of an insane, happy kind. Psychotically.

"That's right! I _am_ the mastermind! It took you terribly long to find me out, but at least you managed to keep 'us' all amused. For your commitment, I'll tell you a secret." She leaned forward, grinning like crazy.

"These aren't your bodies! You're in the body of another person, but a separate mind is what's only original of you! It's a lie! It's aaaalllll a lie!☆"

What?

This isn't me? 

I'm using someone else's identity?

No..

I've looked like this. I always have.

What about my siblings?

My family?

Are they all lies too?

Who am I?

What am I?

And just like that, my world turned all blank and dead, and I heard a noise, like shattering glass.

My reality was a lie, and broken.

I never saw again.

Despair.

Despair.

Despair.

Despair.

**BAD END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Kori: *pulls her hairclip out, revealing that she has a slightly arched ahoge, before smoothing it down and putting her hairclip back on.
> 
> Oyakawa: BROOO SHE REALLY IS A PROTAG LETS GO
> 
> -This is the bad ending. There will be a good and happy one next time.


	6. End Of The Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Killing Game ends, but another will spring up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Oyakawa's mother is the true headmaster of the school, but was Moriko killed her out of twisted love for her family to give them despair.  
> -Oyakawa: How's it feel to be the worst cop ever?  
> Kori: shut up your mother buys you megablocks instead of legos  
> Oyakawa: ..You fuckin' take that back.  
> 

No.

  
  
  
  


I refuse to fall into despair, not when I've gotten so far..

  
  
  
  


"What exactly do you mean by that it's all a lie?"

  
  
  
  


"Okay, okay, I was really exaggerating there. It's not actually a lie. I think I gotcha there, all of you. Look at your faces! You're all so.."

Immediately, her expression changed, and she wore one of those drama masks over her face.

"Y-You all look so sad, I-I can't..! You all look so surprised-nngh."

She pulled off the mask. 

"I'll reveal all the secrets at once. That tiny book you have contains the secrets of this entire operation. Right now, your mind is yours, and you're controlling that body. But the body? It's not yours, but it's supposed to look like yours."

"It's made to look just like you! So that you'd never notice! Here's the process," Oyakawa cleared her throat, "We kidnapped people around your height and age, perfectly average and healthy. Then, we messed around until those people looked just like you. Then..

"We started the mind transfer!" She shivered and whimpered and the thought of it. "We removed their minds and implanted yours into the body, the one you're seeing when you look down at your shoes.. The thought of it makes me shiver.." Kocho seemed to keep himself angered-not at us, but this new Oyakawa we were seeing- instead of being progressively mortified

"What happened to the people you kidnapped, then?"

  
  
  
  


"They're dead." Oyakawa broke into hysterical sobbing. "But. I'll stop playing with these silly emotions. There's so much more to hear."

  
  
  
  


Moriko bounced up and down in her seat.

"I wanna say it! The big plot twist! Pleeeeaaase..!"

  
  
  
  


"Go ahead, Mori, you're the overseer here!"

  
  
  
  


"You may think I'm a little girl but in reality, I’m the overseer of ya! The name’s Moriko Yashino, and I know about your future and history! "

  
  
  
  


"Isn't that what you said at the start-" Realization struck me. "She's.. related?"

  
  
  
  


"Hit on the nail, Kori. I'm proud of you. She's my little sister, who soaked in despair with me. We wanted to be the 2nd Despair Sisters, but it couldn't be arranged. Now, please listen to me, my dear classmates!"

  
  
  
  


"Wait, wait, Oyakawa I have a question."

  
  
  
  


"Shoot, Adachi. You've been too quiet anyways."

  
  
  
  


"Were we friends? Or did you just use Kori and I?"

  
  
  
  


"I'll get to that. Anyways, your mind is controlling the body you're implanted in. I'm here physically, no doubles or anything. When you die, your mind wanders into a blank void and your body is fully paralyzed. You can only think and dream, but forget what it's like to be alive."

"There's a secret between this entire killing game. I can tell you right now, but the truth will choke and kill you like I did to Kuroko."

"Oyakawa, what's the secret you're talking about?"

  
  
  
  


"Oh, well, there's multiple. You want to know about the photo of those pods with your portraits on them, right? Well, you became an entrant willingly. You don't remember, but you did."

  
  
  
  


All of us? Willingly wanting to kill each other? For what purpose?

"What was the reason?"

  
  
  
  


"See, so killing games need people behind the scenes. You all were staff, but why did your personalities change?"

  
  
  
  


There's only 3 possibilities I could think of: brainwashing, the mind transfers, or character development?

"It has to do something with the mind transferring system, right?"

  
  
  
  


"Right. When your mind was being swapped a bug occured without us noticing, and your personality was replaced with the personality of a person that no longer exists. It's a lot cooler to have a determined protagonist with supporting characters in some forms of entertainment. And everyone in reality's memories have been replaced, so that every single person you've seen remembers you as the way you are now, so don't worry."

  
  
  
  


"Who are we 'entertaining', exactly?"

  
  
  
  


"Oh, another secret to be revealed! You know why it's called a 'game'? Because the cameras all around are broadcasting to the outside world! We're the most famous thing ever. Isn't that, right, AUDIENCE?!"

  
  
  
  


"Huh-"

  
  
  
  


Two huge screens appeared from the left and right walls. On one of the screens was a live chat, while the other had a bunch of faces cheering. I focused my eyes on the chat.

'POG WE'RE FEATURED'

'my teacher let me watch!! i stan kocho omg'

'These guys aren't real, right?'

'Kori best girl ♥️♥️'

'i'm donating even more, this is getting better and better'

  
  
  
  


"You're shocked, right everyone?! Aren't you?! Aren't you filled with despair that people enjoy watching you get killed?"

Akazawa shook.

"W-Why are these people enjoying our suffering? What even is this?"

  
  
  
  


"Oh, the title, yes! What is the title of this game, everyone?"

'danganronpa piercing light right?'

'May i pls be in the killing game'

'I'm donating 50$ to a good cause! Killing games are the best!'

'piercing light'

'frpc'

'danganronpa pc???'

  
  
  
  


"Right, chat! This is Danganronpa Piercing Light! We're the fan-continuation of the original hit series of 53 seasons, called Danganronpa!"

Shinora looked like she was going to cry.

"Why would anyone d-do this? 53 seasons? Di-didn't Moriko say this was the 107th?"

  
  
  
  


"Yeppers, I did!"

  
  
  
  


"So, this 'fan version' of Danganronpa has been hosted 54 times.." Adachi was losing hope.

"If nobody's tried to stop this, then it can't be helped." Kocho, you too?

"I don't think we c-can win." Shinora..

"It's hopeless. There's no way to fight back." Yusane..

"We'll have to accept fate, since it's been laid out." Harada..

"I'm giving up." 

Nikki, everyone..

  
  
  
  


"Kori, your friends already are giving into despair, just let it happen. But one more truth."

  
  
  
  


"What more do you have to say?"

  
  
  
  


"Oh, so much more, and your friends are already turning to despair! This is so lovely!"

  
  
  
  


"J-Just stop it! Spit it out, already!"

  
  
  


"Oh, okay. I'm talentless. I despise all talent possible. I hate everyone who things they're worthy of being alive, by being talented. I'll make sure that this ending is satisfying. I'll make sure to settle with despair. So now that you guys are motivated with despair, I'll give you only two options;

"You either all die, let yourselves be replaced by the minds of the people that were kidnapped and you will forget everything, and then the killing will repeat all over again, with different people, or you have me executed, and you're free, with immense trauma and peril. The killing games will start again."

The only choices. I felt like that everyone else, currently despair-induced, would choose the first. And, I was correct. The overlapping voices of my classmates needed to be pierced through.

"Kori, I know that you're devastated that Oyakawa isn't your or my friend, but we need to forget everything."

"It'll be an escape if we're gone, we'll be free."

  
  


"It doesn't really seem like there's a good option, so let's just choose the first.'

"I'll follow the crowd."

"We can't end the killing at all.."

"I don't wanna remember this much despair. I'm okay with dying and forgetting."

"You should give up and die! There's nothing left for you to do!"

" **....** "

  
  


"Adachi, you can't give this up, not when we're so close to winning!"

  
  
  
  


"You're right! I'll keep pressing forward!"

  
  
  
  


"...What'll be our plan if we **win**."

  
  
  
  


"Not just us, Kocho. _Hope_ will win. And we'll go along with what happens, even if we're not a step ahead."

  
  
  
  


"I won't let despair say what I'll do."

  
  


"Are you sure that this **isn't it**?"

  
  
  
  


"I'm sure, Harada. We'll create a fate ourselves."

  
  
  
  


"I'm fine with this, then."

  
  
  
  


"I don't have a place to **go back to**."

  
  
  
  


"You won't be alone, Yusane. We have your back."

  
  
  
  


"I'll no longer be a rat then, huh?"

  
  
  
  


"I just wanna run away, **I don't care anymore**!"

  
  
  
  


"You can't just run now, Nikki. We need to end this!"

  
  
  
  


"Fine, I'll put up a fight against Oyakawa!"

  
  
  
  


"I haven't been helpful **at all**!"

  
  
  
  


"Kocho considers you helpful, Shinora. Come on, we can do this."

  
  
  
  


"A-alright, I trust all of you."

  
  
  
  


" **I..** "

  
  
  
  


"Akazawa, you don't need to worry. We're going to sort this out."

  
  
  
  


"I really hope we'll make it."

" **UGH! JUST STAY WITH DESPAIR YOU IDIOTS!"**

**"** NO! We'll just force a way through all of this ourselves!"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

"WE. WILL. NOT. LOSE!"

"..."

"Oyakawa."

  
  
  
  


"Have you guys made up your mind? What's it gonna be?"

  
  
  
  


"We'll stick with even the smallest sliver of hope. Even if there's more suffering to see, we'll overcome it all with our hope. We'll find a way to end your sadistic killing games, even if it takes centuries."

  
  
  
  


"..I see. Well, just know that there's a powerful person that's behind all of these, and it will continue on. Until then."

  
  
  
  


"Oh, Kori.."

Her eyes seemed to swirl with insanity, and laughing she approached the huge red button that was activated when an execution was going to start. "I really liked you. I really, really, really did. Don't you agree that a toxic relationship is so despair-inducing?"

"Believe what you want. I do not want to participate and hope or despair anymore."

  
  
  
  


Her hand hovered over the button before smashing it down, hard enough to break it.

"Let's give it our all! It's…. Punishment time!☆"

  
  
  
  


Instead of the punishment being specifically for her, the hospital destroying itself was the punishment, for all of us, even though only Oyakawa was going to be truly killed. I wonder- 


	7. Rectification

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kori wakes up in her own body, and thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kori after each death and execution: "Oh, no. Anyways.."

I sat up in a bed. Where was I? I was in.. a room with white walls and floors. Checking my surroundings, it was clear I was in a hospital. Hold on, a moment, this place looks familiar. It looked like a genuine hospital, though. Just like before, I had a longing to reach through the door. My body felt stiff, and I nearly struggled walking. Then again, wasn't this supposed to be the real me, who hasn't walked in over a week. As I followed the voices down the hallway, two people ran towards me, and I was being hugged. My siblings. 

"Oh, shit, Kori?" Shoji's face looked like he had been crying, while Toshi seemed very concerned. In the corner of my eye, I saw my parents leave.

"Kori, you good? Hold on a moment, lemme talk to her."

  
  


"Okay."

  
  
  
  


Toshi pulled me to the side, resting his hands on my shoulders.

"Tell me what happened, everything you can remember." I explained the full killing game to him, he seemed interested.

"Kori, I know that your personality isn't the same. Mind manipulation doesn't work on me. I'm glad you're not as bad as Shoji anymore though, heh. But you probably don't know, but I've attended a killing game while you were gone. The 80th. I heard that your friends are also awake, but.." He started to lead towards Shoji again. 

"We can't do anything about your dead friends. Sorry."

  
  
  
  


"Oh, it's okay. I realized there wasn't a solution to revive the dead, so.." Shoji started mumbling, hugging me. I let him.

"What about Mom and Dad? Do they care?" Shoji stepped back.

"Dunno."

  
  
  
  


"Yeah, I'm not sure. They visited you, but didn't say anything and then left."

  
  
  
  


"At least they didn't ignore me. I'm gonna go see my friends."

  
  
  
  


"They're in the room down the hall and to the left."

  
  
  
  


I walked inside the room Toshi instructed and saw the seven of my remaining friends. I slid into a seat next to Harada.

"Hello, Kori. We were talking about what to do after this." 

Kocho cleared his throat.

"I think I was the first to wake up, but for approximately 10 minutes, I was informed about some kind of organization called the 'Future Foundation'. It includes both former staff and students of Hope's Peak. Maybe we could go to them for help."

  
  
  
  


Adachi simply shook his head.

"They're from Hope's Peak. We're not, they'd never believe us and we'd be pushed away. We need to warn the world, somehow."

  
  
  
  


"O-Oh, Kori, do you have a phone? Harada thought I'd be a good idea to keep in contact w-with each other."

  
  
  
  


"Mine is a little old, but yeah. Here's the number."

  
  
  
  


Yusane sighed.

"I remember the guys who raised me. They're dorm roommates. Their location is kinda far, and I don't know if I should go there."

Nikki laughed.

"My parents live in another state. I don't know where to go either."

It was Akazawa's turn to talk.

"Well, it seems like the killing games are still gonna go on, so we need to break the cycle, so maybe you should remain here?"

  
  
  
  


"Akazawa, they live far away, and we can't really stop the killings soon."

  
  
  
  


"It could also be anytime, though."

  
  
  
  


"Good point. Random question, though. Are we able to open the doors?"

  
  
  
  


"I believe so. I wonder how the world's doing."

  
  
  
  


"Me too, Adachi." I let out a sigh.

I pushed open the door, to welcome in the light, which seemed to pierce right through, and into my heart..

The Headmaster nodded, and stamped my application. He thanked me for my time, my full ability to tell the story and my escape from Cure of The Killing Hospital. I'll be joining this one government funded school soon enough.


End file.
